The Road Taken
by jedimasterstar
Summary: Post-"Sans Voir". Callen is abandoned by NCIS. However, an unexpected visitor is about to change his life forever. Will feature multiple crossovers. Now going to be an extreme AU.
1. New Beginning

**This came out of watching "Sans Voir" last week. I have no idea where Nick Fury came from; but he seems to show up at the most unlikely times.**

**This is mostly going to be a series of one-shot chapters. I'm trying to do a single plot-based, multi-chapter story soon.**

**Story Summary: **Callen is abandoned by NCIS; but an unexpected visitor is about to change his life forever.

**A/N:** This is now an extreme AU. I am going to be ignoring Season 4 and anything afterwards unless otherwise stated. You've been warned.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own neither _NCIS: Los Angeles_ or _The Avengers_ (movieverse). Only Nadia belongs to me.

* * *

Callen sat in his cell, wondering where in the world his team was. NCIS should have taken over this by now; yet it has been six hours since he killed the Chameleon. What the hell was going on? He knew that he had made a bad choice, but he only did what he felt was right. Renko and Hunter had to be avenged, their deaths had to be avenged.

Suddenly, a guard came up to his cell. "Someone wants to talk to you," he said as he opened the cell door. Callen got up and allowed the guard to escort him to an interrogation room. When he entered, he expected to see either Hetty or Granger; but the person waiting for him was unfamiliar. He was an African-American man, dressed all in black and had a patch over his left eye.

The guard left the room, leaving the two alone. "Have a seat, Agent Callen," said the man as he gestured toward a chair.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded Callen, confusion evident in his voice and on his face.

"Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D.," the man replied.

Now Callen was interested. "The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"You," replied Fury. "You're probably wondering why NCIS hasn't come to get you yet."

"The thought has crossed my mind."

"They haven't shown up because they've cleaned their hands of you," he said as he tossed a folder in front of the younger man.

"What?" asked Callen, opening the folder. And what he read made him angry. Apparently, Granger covered up the whole incident and made him look like a rogue. The agency had left him to the civil authorities. "That bastard," he mumbled, venom entering his voice.

Fury looked at him with pity in his eyes. "I never liked him personally. But Vance keeps him around."

"And you want me."

"I never go on recruitment missions unless I see something promising. My agency only recruits the best and the brightest. You, Callen, have a lot of potential left."

"You're offering me a job."

"We've hacked into OSP's computers and have taken all the information on the Chameleon case."

"Eric and Nell aren't going to be happy about that."

"I bet they're not. A little while ago, I contacted both Vance and Granger and told them I was going to release the information to the public if they didn't cooperate."

"And they are?"

"Callen, you did a noble thing. A stupid thing but a noble thing. They're going to release the fact that the man you killed was a known fugitive. In exchange – and with your agreement – you are going to work for us."

"And if I don't agree?"

Fury leaned back and replied, "Then this meeting never happened."

Callen thought for a bit. He really did not want to go to jail. He would not be able to get any answers that way. What Fury was offering was freedom…with a price. Yet he always wondered about S.H.I.E.L.D., about what it really did. Maybe this was a chance to find out. "Alright, I'm game," he said, closing the file.

Fury smirked as he pulled out his cell. "Agent Callen has made his decision. Now it's your turn," he said into it before closing it. "Come on," he said as he gestured toward the door.

"Walking like that."

"Just like that," said the director as he led him out of the jail and to the outside world. A black Acura was waiting for them, as well as a young woman. Eastern European by the looks of her, with long, slightly curly dark hair and vivid blue-green eyes. "Agent Callen, may I introduce your partner, Agent Nadia Vadim," Fury introduced.

Callen's eyes went wide at the recognition of the last name. The woman smiled. "Yes, I'm related to the Comescus," she replied to his unspoken question. "But I have wiped my hands clean of them a long time ago. You've nothing to fear from me."

"Don't take it personally if I don't believe you," he said. She only smiled.

Fury took the opportunity to interrupt and say, "Take him to the safe house. I have some unfinished business."

"As you wish," said Nadia as she gestured toward the passenger seat. After Callen got in and she took her wheel, she said, "Don't worry about your former co-workers. From what I was able to understand, they were planning to break you out."

Callen chuckled. "I have no doubt about that," he said before going quiet. He had just gotten settled, finally comfortable with this life, and now he had to leave it all behind.

Noticing his expression, she asked, "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," he replied. And he really did not know.


	2. Getting Along

**Another one-shot. And it features Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye)!**

* * *

Nadia Vadim was worried about her new partner. She knew that Callen was having a hard time dealing with his former employers' betrayal; but everything she tried to do to cheer him up had been fruitless. _"What the hell am I going to do?"_ she wondered as she stared out the window of the helicarrier.

Sensing someone behind her, she turned to see Clint Barton walking towards her. He was looking a bit better after the Chitauri incident, though she was not sure about his state of mind. "You look troubled," he said as he walked up next to her.

"You think?" she retorted, giving him a glare.

"New partner then?"

She sighed. "I can understand how Callen feels. But he is making it so damn difficult. He doesn't trust me because of my familial ties," she told him.

"I remember how you were when Tasha brought you in. You wouldn't talk to anyone for days."

"Until you decided to try and kill me."

"I wasn't going to kill you. I wanted to see what you would do," he said defensively.

Nadia smiled while trying so hard not to laugh. "And you remembered how that turned out?" she asked.

Clint smiled. "Definitely," he said. "But it did get you to open up."

"So you're suggesting that I try and kill him."

"No. What I'm saying is to give him some time. You may figure out how to reach him."

Her face was blank as she thought about what the Hawk just said. Maybe he was right. But how in the world was she going to do it? Sighing again, she kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thanks for the advice, birdboy."

He shook his head as he watched her walk off, more than likely to find her wayward partner.

It did not take her long to find Callen. He was currently in the gym, beating the crap out of a punching bag. _"Please don't tell me he met Rogers,"_ she thought as she watched him.

He was good – she gave him that. Whoever taught him how to box did a good job. _"I wonder what else he can do,"_ she thought as she watched him. It seemed like hours before her partner, not even turning toward her direction, said, "You like what you see?"

She smiled. "You are good at that," she said as she walked towards him.

"Training with Sam allows for one to gain a few skills," he said as he walked away from the bag and toward the bench. Nadia followed. "Did you need something?" he asked, attempting not to look at her.

She sighed – she seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Callen, we need to talk," she replied.

"Really?" he said sarcastically.

"Damnit, Callen," she said, trying her best not to yell. "I know that NCIS screwed you. Hell, they screw everyone every day. That was one of the reasons I got away from them in the first place."

He stared at her. "You used to work for NCIS?" he asked.

She nodded and replied, "A long time ago. I was fresh out of college. Hetty recruited me." His eyebrows quirked with interest. "I worked primarily in Eastern Europe. I was good. Really good. Until about three years ago. I was undercover in Romania trying to get information on the Comescus. I was so close to getting what NCIS wanted. However, my cover was blown. And you want to know what the agency did? They left me to die. It was not for Natasha, I would have been dead by now."

Callen was quiet for a bit. She had no idea if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Then he said, "I just don't know what to think at the moment. NCIS became my life."

"Don't dwell on it. They don't deserve to have you in their service," she told him as she made a move toward the door. "If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. Or Natasha. Or if you need to go out and get drunk, I'll get a hold of Stark for you. Or maybe Clint might take you. Just don't keep it bottled up inside."

"Wait." Nadia turned back to him. "Maybe tomorrow we can…" he trailed off, not knowing how to say it.

She smiled. "Be here at 0600," she said before turning and leaving. Maybe they might get along with each other yet.


	3. Job Offer

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either NCIS: LA or The Avengers.

**Author's Notes:** This is part of my series _The Road Taken_. If you want to read the first two one-shots, go here. Also, I am playing with the part at the end of "Sans Voir" that she officially turned in her resignation. Like I said before, totally AU.

**A/N2:** This takes place during the during that I am currently writing for NaNo. That story will be posted sometime in December/January (depends on how it goes).

**Summary:** Hetty doesn't do retirement. Nick Fury knows that.

* * *

As she sat in the study, Hetty Lange wondered if retirement was a good thing or not. A long history of constantly moving did that to a person. The body may want to rest but the mind does not. But she was more worried about Callen. Ever since the Chameleon incident and her subsequent resignation, the only thing she ever thought of was Callen. She knew that SHIELD recruited him into their new investigation division and gave him a partner…though how he was getting along with her was a different question. But she knew that Nadia would take care of him – after the awkward stage. "You know that you don't have to stay retired," came a sudden yet familiar voice.

Hetty smiled a bit. "And yet, Nicholas," she said, "what else can I do?" She got up out of the chair she was sitting in to face her visitor.

Nick Fury gave her a small smile. "You know as well as I do, Henrietta, that you never like to stay still," he replied. "It's good to see you again."

"You also. How is my wayward agent?"

"On assignment with his partner. They're investigating some disappearances up in Vermont."

"Mere disappearances? Considering that you sent them to investigate, it must be more than that," she said with a chuckle. Her past association with the agency taught her that they do not do ordinary.

"You know," he said with a smile.

Her small smile faded a bit when she asked, "How is he doing?"

"He's adjusting well. Changing agencies isn't new to him. But after what happened to him recently…"

"He lost his trust in everyone and anything," ended Hetty. She knew that would happen. Callen had always had a hard time trusting people, though she had made some headway into that. Now Granger had ruined all that hard work.

"But, I will say that Nadia has been making some headway. Beating the crap out of him seems to work a bit," Fury said. "And she introduced him to Coulson, Romanoff, and Barton. It's been a tag-team effort."

"I bet. But he's warming up to Nadia?"

"He was wary of her out first. But as of a month ago they are doing just fine."

"Good," said Hetty. She still felt guilty that she did not do enough to help the young woman. She knew Nadia did not blame her; but the guilt is still there. "I'm glad to hear that they are helping each other. But I don't think that is the real reason you're here."

"Partially," said Fury. "The other part is to offer you a job."

"And here I thought I was done working."

He smiled. "I am working to build-up the undercover investigation unit in SHIELD. Callen and Nadia are the trial run. If it does work out, it will continue to grow. I want you to be the handler of the unit."

"You want me to babysit."

"You know how it is."

Hetty thought about it for a moment. She did admit that she was slightly bored; and the spy game was the sort of thing one never retired from. And working with Callen and Nadia again…it gave her a chance to make it up to them. "When do I start?" she asked. Fury responded with a wide smile.


End file.
